The school will close a year from now. Altmar-Parish-Williamstown school district is consolidating into a two-building, one campus site on County Route 22.

Parish Mayor Leon Heagle said the meeting at Parish Elementary will give residents a chance to share their thoughts on what should be done with the building once it closes.

"I hope a lot of people come out. They need to take an interest in this because its going to affect them," Heagle said.

Heagle said residents should be concerned about what will happen if the building sits vacant for too long and the importance of placing the building back on the tax rolls.

He also said the school is a large user of the villages sewer system, so having a user for the school would keep residents from having to pay more in sewer costs.

The village and town of Parish have received a grant from the state Office of Community Renewal Community Planning Program to prepare a reuse plan for the school. The plan is being conducted by Fairweather Consulting of New Paltz and DiMarco Group of Rochester.

Wednesday's meeting will begin with brief presentation outlining the overall strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats brought about by redevelopment of the school for the site and entire Parish community.

Those attending will be able to talk about what they see as appropriate uses for the site, taking into consideration the buildings condition, local and regional economic conditions and the community's objectives for the project.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Fairweather/DiMarco team will identify areas where everyone agrees and discuss ideas that will require further consideration. A school-use survey will be available for residents to fill out at the meeting or they can fill it out on the reuse plan website.

Altmar Elementary also will close next June. Village Clerk Margaret Bailey said there have been some preliminary discussions on what to do with that building and a meeting is being scheduled so the village board and representatives of the Tug Hill Commission can talk about the schools reuse.

If you go

What: Meeting on reuse of Parish Elementary.
When: 7 p.m., Wednesday.
Where: Parish Elementary School.
Why: Residents can provide their ideas for how the school should be used after it closes next June.
Who: Open to everyone.
Online: The site http://parishschoolplan.ning.com has been established to provide information about the Parish Elementary School reuse plan and collect public comment.